The Board has granted a separate 20 percent rating for radiculopathy of the right upper extremity, but denied a higher rating for cervical spine disability.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's cervical spine disability does not meet or more nearly approximate the criteria for a higher than 20 percent rating under the General Rating Formula due to limited forward flexion and mild incomplete paralysis of the middle radicular group in the right upper extremity.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical Spine Disability, Radiculopathy of the Right Upper Extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- January 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20005610
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,990 · Granted: 35% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 20005610.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's cervical spine disability, right knee strain (painful motion), and right knee instability are now rated at 30 percent effective August 16, 2017.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for TMD, cervical spine disability, and FSAD have been denied.,An earlier effective date prior to August 2, 2022, for the award of service connection for these conditions has also been denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service connection claims for erectile dysfunction and voiding dysfunction have been denied due to the lack of evidence linking these conditions to his in-service exposure.,The remaining service connection claims (for bilateral feet, ankles, hip, wrist, cervical spine, upper extremity radiculopathy, psychiatric disorder, GERD, sleep apnea, and hypertension) are remanded for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for cervical spine disability, right upper extremity radiculopathy, and left upper extremity radiculopathy due to inadequate examinations. The Veteran is required to undergo new VA examinations to assess her current and retrospective severity of these disabilities.
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